Method and apparatus for defining routing of customers between merchants

ABSTRACT

A server or Internet service provider computer selects a soliciting merchant and an outputting merchant based on various factors. In one embodiment, the soliciting merchant is selected if its activity rate (e.g. sales rate) is low. The outputting merchant provides offers for bonuses to customers on behalf of the soliciting merchant. The bonus is provided to the customer in exchange for consummating a transaction with the soliciting merchant. Thus, the soliciting merchant benefits from the increased patronage such offers encourage.

The present Application is a Continuation Application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/166,405 entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FORDEFINING ROUTING OF CUSTOMERS BETWEEN MERCHANTS, filed Oct. 5, 1998 inthe name of Walker et al. and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,405,174 B1 onJun. 11, 2002. The entirety of the above-referenced Application isincorporated by reference herein for all purposes.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to now abandoned U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 09/098,240 entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR APPLYING ANDTRACKING A CONDITIONAL VALUE COUPON FOR A RETAIL ESTABLISHMENT” filed onJun. 16, 1998 in the name of Jay S. Walker and Andrew S. Van Luchene;and is further related to now abandoned U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/166,367 entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING A DISCOUNT TO ACUSTOMER THAT PARTICIPATES IN TRANSACTIONS AT A PLURALITY OF MERCHANTS”filed on Oct. 5, 1998 in the name of Jay S. Walker, Andrew S. VanLuchene, Magdalena Mik and Daniel E. Tedesco; and is further related toU.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/166,339 entitled “METHOD ANDAPPARATUS FOR MAINTAINING A CUSTOMER DATABASE USING LICENSE PLATESCANNING” filed on Oct. 5, 1998, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,374,240B1 on Apr. 16, 2002 in the name of Jay S. Walker, Joshua D. Rogers andAndrew S. Van Luchene, each of which is assigned to the assignee of thepresent application and each of which is incorporated by referenceherein as part of the present disclosure.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for providingdiscounts.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Merchants rarely experience consistent levels of sales. It is moretypical that a merchant will experience periods of low sales activityinterspersed with brief periods of high sales activity. Inconsistentsales activity, such as during cyclic or seasonal periods, makes itdifficult for merchants to make inventory and pricing decisions.Merchants would like to entice customers to visit the business,particularly during periods of low sales activity. Merchants wouldparticularly like to entice each customer to participate intransactions, such as purchases or simply visiting the store, morefrequently.

It is difficult for a merchant to respond quickly to changingconditions. For example, if sales activity is low in the morning, themerchant cannot successfully advertise in time to attract customers thatsame morning. Since the merchant typically cannot know precisely when itwill need customers (i.e. “slow days”) and when customers will be inabundance, attracting customers at optimal times is difficult orimpossible.

It would be advantageous to provide a method and apparatus that allow abusiness to more effectively attract customers at desirable times.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method andapparatus for more effectively attracting customers at desirable times.

In accordance with the present invention, a server or Internet serviceprovider computer selects a soliciting merchant and an outputtingmerchant based on various factors. In one embodiment, the solicitingmerchant is selected if its activity rate (e.g. sales rate) is low. Theoutputting merchant provides offers for bonuses to customers on behalfof the soliciting merchant. The bonus is provided to the customer inexchange for consummating a transaction with the soliciting merchant.Thus, the soliciting merchant benefits from the increased patronage suchoffers encourage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of an apparatus provided inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of another embodiment of an apparatusprovided in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of an Internet service provider ofthe apparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a merchant web server of theapparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of a POS terminal of the apparatus ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of an embodiment of a merchantdatabase of the Internet service provider of FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of a record of another embodiment ofa merchant database of the Internet service provider of FIG. 3.

FIG. 8 is a schematic illustration of an embodiment of an offer criteriadatabase of the Internet service provider of FIG. 3.

FIG. 9 is a schematic illustration of an embodiment of a prioritydatabase of the Internet service provider of FIG. 3.

FIG. 10 is a schematic illustration of a record of an embodiment of abonus database of the Internet service provider of FIG. 3.

FIG. 11 is a schematic illustration of a record of an embodiment of abonus database of the Internet service provider of FIG. 3.

FIG. 12 is a schematic illustration of an embodiment of an offerdatabase of the Internet service provider of FIG. 3.

FIG. 13 is a schematic illustration of an embodiment of an offer summarydatabase of the Internet service provider of FIG. 3.

FIG. 14 is a schematic illustration of an embodiment of an inventorydatabase of the POS terminal of FIG. 3.

FIG. 15 is a schematic illustration of a record of an embodiment of acustomer database of the POS terminal of FIG. 3.

FIGS. 16A and 16B are a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of amethod provided in accordance with the present invention.

FIGS. 17A and 17B are a flow chart illustrating another embodiment of amethod provided in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a flow chart illustrating another embodiment of a methodprovided in accordance with the present invention.

FIGS. 19A and 19B are a flow chart illustrating another embodiment of amethod provided in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a flow chart illustrating another embodiment of a methodprovided in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a flow chart illustrating another embodiment of a methodprovided in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a flow chart illustrating another embodiment of a methodprovided in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In accordance with the present invention, a soliciting merchant maydirect (“route”) customers from other merchants to participate intransactions (e.g. purchases) with the soliciting merchant. In oneembodiment, during periods of low activity the soliciting merchant maydirect customers from other merchants by directing the merchants, knownas “outputting merchants”, to provide offers for bonuses to thecustomers on behalf of the soliciting merchant. The bonus is generally adiscount such as a reduced purchase price or credit to a credit cardaccount.

The offer may define conditions that the customer must meet in order toreceive the bonus. The customer may meet the conditions whileparticipating in a second transaction with the soliciting merchant. Forexample, the customer may be required to spend at least a minimumpurchase price at the second merchant on a particular day. Once theconditions are satisfied, the bonus is awarded to the customer. In oneembodiment, the bonus is applied by crediting a credit card account usedduring the first and/or second transaction.

The present invention is particularly advantageous in that it allowsvarious merchants to participate in mutually beneficial “co-branding”opportunities. The present invention may be employed in an embodimentwhere the customer conducts transactions remotely via a personalcomputer or similar device for communicating remotely with a storecontroller. For example, a customer may use his computer to access theWorld Wide Web sites of merchants, indicate purchases, and pay bytransmitting a credit card number to the merchants.

Referring to FIG. 1, an apparatus 100 includes a user computer 110 thatis in communication with an Internet service provider computer 120. Theuser computer 110 is typically a personal computer operated by thecustomer and equipped to access the Internet or other electronicnetwork. The Internet service provider computer 120 is a computer thatenables the user computer 110 to access the Internet in a manner knownin the art. Accordingly, the Internet service provider computer 120 maybe of the type controlled and/or operated by America Online, Prodigy, orMicrosoft for offering Internet connectivity and content to users.

The Internet service provider computer 120 is in turn in communicationthrough the Internet with a merchant web servers 130, 140 and 150 in amanner known in the art. As is also known in the art, the merchant webservers 130, 140 and 150 may control “web sites” that may be accessed bythe user computer 110 upon entering appropriate commands. Although threemerchant web servers are shown in FIG. 1, any number of merchant webservers may be in communication with the Internet service providercomputer 120 without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention.

The Internet service provider computer 120 may perform many of theprocesses described below as performed by a merchant web server,especially those processes that are performed for more than one merchantweb server. The Internet service provider computer 120 may also storedata that is used by more than one merchant web server.

The present invention may also be advantageously employed in anembodiment where the customer conducts transactions at physical stores,such as stores in a mall. Similarly, the customer may conducttransactions by communicating via a telephone with catalog merchants,such as Land's End.

Referring to FIG. 2, an apparatus 200 includes a server 210 that is incommunication with store controllers 220, 230 and 240 by means of anetwork such as Microsoft First Datacorp (“MSFDC”). The server 210directs the operation of, stores data from, and transmits data to thestore controllers 220, 230 and 240. The server 210 is a computing devicethat can communicate with one or more store controllers. The server 210may be a computer that is owned and/or operated by a credit cardclearinghouse such as First Data Corporation.

Although three store controllers are shown in FIG. 2, any number ofstore controllers may be in communication with the server 210 withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The storecontrollers 220, 230 and 240 are typically located in different stores,such as in different stores of a mall. Similarly, the store controllers220, 230 and 240 may each control different catalog merchants. The storecontrollers may also be computers that direct an “online store”, such asa web server that receives and processes orders for goods. In such anembodiment, each store controller would be equivalent to a merchant webserver depicted in FIG. 1. Similarly, in such an embodiment the server210 would be equivalent to the Internet service provider 120 depicted inFIG. 1.

The server 210 may perform many of the processes described below asperformed by a store controller, especially those processes that areperformed for more than one store controller. The server 210 may alsostore data that is used by more than one store controller.

Each store controller is in communication with one or more POSterminals. Specifically, the store controller 220 is in communicationwith POS terminals 245 and 250, the store controller 230 is incommunication with a POS terminal 255 and the store controller 240 is incommunication with POS terminals 260 and 265. The POS terminals may be,for example, the NCR 7454 manufactured by NCR Corporation or the IBM4683 manufactured by International Business Machines. Each storecontroller directs the operation of, stores data from, and transmitsdata to the POS terminal(s) with which it is in communication. Forexample, as described below, each store controller may store a databaseof inventory to indicate to the POS terminals the prices of itemspurchased.

Referring to FIG. 3, reference numeral 300 indicates a more detailedillustration of the server 210 (FIG. 2) or, in another embodiment, ofthe Internet service provider 120 (FIG. 1). A processor 302 thatcomprises one or more conventional microprocessors such as the Intel®Pentium® microprocessor is in communication with a data storage device304, such as an appropriate combination of magnetic, optical and/orsemiconductor memory. The processor 302 and the storage device 304 mayeach be (i) located entirely within a single computer or other computingdevice; (ii) connected to each other by a remote communication medium,such as a serial port cable, telephone line or radio frequencytransceiver; or (iii) a combination thereof. For example, referencenumeral 300 may represent one or more computers that are connected to aremote computer for maintaining databases.

The processor 302 is also in communication with an input device 306, aprinter 308 and a display device 310. The input device 306 may comprisea keypad for transmitting input signals to the processor 302. Othertypes of input devices are known to those skilled in the art. Theprinter 308 is for registering indicia on paper or other material. Thedisplay device 310 is operative to display at least alphanumericcharacters, and thus may be any of a number of known video monitors,liquid crystal displays (“LCD”) or light emitting diode (“LED”)displays. Many types of input devices and display devices are known tothose skilled in the art, and need not be described in detail herein.

The storage device 304 stores a control program 320 for controlling theprocessor 302. The processor 302 performs instructions of the controlprogram 320 and thereby operates in accordance with the presentinvention and particularly in accordance with the methods described indetail herein. The control program 320 furthermore includes programelements that may be necessary, such as an operating system and “devicedrivers” for allowing the processor 302 to interface with computerperipheral devices, such as the input device 306, the printer 308 andthe display device 310. Appropriate device drivers and other necessaryprogram elements are known to those skilled in the art and need not bedescribed in detail herein.

The storage device 304 also stores (i) a merchant database 322, (ii) anoffer criteria database 324, (iii) a priority database 326, (iv) a bonusdatabase 328, (v) an offer database 330, and (vi) an offer summarydatabase 332. In addition, other devices (e.g. the store controllers ofFIG. 2 or the merchant web servers of FIG. 1) may obtain informationfrom the databases stored by the storage device 304. As will beunderstood by those skilled in the art, the schematic illustrations andaccompanying descriptions of the databases presented herein areexemplary arrangements for stored representations of information. Anumber of other arrangements may be employed besides the tables shown.Similarly, the illustrated entries represent exemplary information, butthose skilled in the art will understand that the number and content ofthe entries can be different from those illustrated herein.

In various embodiments, any or all of the above-described databasescould be stored (i) on the computer of an Internet service provider(“ISP”), (ii) on another computer on the Internet, or (iii) locally onthe consumer's computer (e.g. in the browser software or in a “cookie”or other file). In other embodiments, any or all of the above-describeddatabases could be stored by POS terminals.

Referring to FIG. 4, a store controller 400 is descriptive of any or allof (i) the store controllers 220, 230 and 240 (FIG. 2), as well as (ii)the merchant web servers 130, 140 and 150. The store controller 400includes a processor 402 that comprises one or more conventionalmicroprocessors such as the Intel® Pentium® microprocessor. Theprocessor 402 is in communication with a data storage device 404, suchas an appropriate combination of magnetic, optical and/or semiconductormemory. The processor 402 and the storage device 404 may each be (i)located entirely within a single computer or other computing device;(ii) connected to each other by a remote communication medium, such as aserial port cable, telephone line or radio frequency transceiver; or(iii) a combination thereof. For example, the store controller 400 maycomprise one or more computers that are connected to a remote computerfor maintaining databases.

The processor 402 is also in communication with an input device 406, aprinter 408 and a display device 410. The input device 406 preferablycomprises a keypad for transmitting input signals to the processor 402.The printer 408 is for registering indicia on paper or other material.The display device 410 is operative to display at least alphanumericcharacters to the customer and/or cashier, and thus may be any of anumber of known video monitors, liquid crystal displays (“LCD”) or lightemitting diode (“LED”) displays. Many types of input devices, printersand display devices are known to those skilled in the art, and need notbe described in detail herein.

The storage device 404 stores a control program 420 for controlling theprocessor 402. The processor 402 performs instructions of the controlprogram 420 and thereby operates in accordance with the presentinvention and particularly in accordance with the methods described indetail herein. The control program 420 furthermore includes programelements that may be necessary, such as an operating system and “devicedrivers” for allowing the processor 402 to interface with computerperipheral devices. Appropriate device drivers and other necessaryprogram elements are known to those skilled in the art and need not bedescribed in detail herein.

The storage device 404 also stores (i) an inventory database 422, and(ii) a customer database 424. In another embodiment, one or more POSterminals or merchant web servers may store one or more of the databases422 and 424. The databases 422 and 424 are described in detail below anddepicted with exemplary entries in the accompanying figures. As will beunderstood by those skilled in the art, the schematic illustrations andaccompanying descriptions of the databases presented herein areexemplary arrangements for stored representations of information. Anumber of other arrangements may be employed besides the tables shown.Similarly, the illustrated entries represent exemplary information, butthose skilled in the art will understand that the number and content ofthe entries can be different from those illustrated herein.

Referring to FIG. 5, a POS terminal 500 is descriptive of any or all ofthe POS terminals 220, 230 and 240 (FIG. 2). The POS terminal 500includes a processor 502 that comprises one or more conventionalmicroprocessors such as the Intel® Pentium® microprocessor. Theprocessor 502 is in communication with a data storage device 504, suchas an appropriate combination of magnetic, optical and/or semiconductormemory. The processor 502 and the storage device 504 may each be (i)located entirely within a single computer or other computing device;(ii) connected to each other by a remote communication medium, such as aserial port cable, telephone line or radio frequency transceiver; or(iii) a combination thereof. For example, the POS terminal 500 maycomprise one or more computers that are connected to a remote computerfor maintaining databases.

The processor 502 is also in communication with an input device 506, aprinter 508 and a display device 510. The input device 506 may compriseone or more of (i) a keypad for transmitting input signals to theprocessor 502; (ii) a card reader for reading magnetically-encodedinformation on cards passed therethrough, such as credit cards, frequentshopper cards and identity cards; (iii) an optical scanner for readingbar codes, such as bar codes registered on items of inventory; (iv) atouch screen for generating signals that indicate when and where thescreen has been touched, pressed or actuated; and (v) a card reader forreading from and writing to a chip-based “smart card” such as thosemanufactured by Mondex. The printer 508 is for registering indicia onpaper or other material, thereby printing receipts, coupons and vouchersas commanded by the processor 502. The display device 510 is operativeto display at least alphanumeric characters to the customer and/orcashier, and thus may be any of a number of known video monitors, liquidcrystal displays (“LCD”) or light emitting diode (“LED”) displays. Manytypes of input devices, printers and display devices are known to thoseskilled in the art, and need not be described in detail herein.

The storage device 504 stores a control program 520 for controlling theprocessor 502. The processor 502 performs instructions of the controlprogram 520 and thereby operates in accordance with the presentinvention and particularly in accordance with the methods described indetail herein. The control program 520 furthermore includes programelements that may be necessary, such as an operating system and “devicedrivers” for allowing the processor 502 to interface with computerperipheral devices. Appropriate device drivers and other necessaryprogram elements are known to those skilled in the art and need not bedescribed in detail herein.

Referring to FIG. 6, a table 600 illustrates an embodiment of themerchant database 322 (FIG. 3). The table 600 includes entries 602, 604and 606, each of which describes a merchant that owns, operates orcontrols a store controller or a merchant web server. It will beunderstood by those skilled in the art that the table 600 may includeany number of entries. The table 600 also defines fields for each of theentries 602, 604 and 606, which specify (i) a merchant identifier 620for uniquely identifying the merchant, (ii) a name 622 of the merchant,(iii) an address 624 of the merchant, (iv) a standard industryclassification (“SIC”) code 626 of the merchant which defines a merchantclass of the merchant, (v) billing instructions 628 indicating how themerchant will be billed, (vi) an amount owed 630 by the merchant, (vii)a payment due date 632 on which the merchant must remit payment, (viii)a budget amount remaining 634 for the merchant, (ix) a frozen portion636 of the budget amount, and (x) a priority 638 to be given to themerchant.

Referring to FIG. 7, a table 700 illustrates a record of the merchantdatabase 322 (FIG. 3) in another embodiment of the present invention. Insuch an embodiment, the merchant database 322 includes a plurality ofrecords, each of which describes a merchant that owns, operates orcontrols a store controller or a merchant web server. The table 700includes the merchant identifier and merchant name 702. The table 700also includes entries 704 and 706, each of which describes anothermerchant (a “soliciting merchant”) and the relation between thesoliciting merchant and the merchant described by the record. It will beunderstood by those skilled in the art that the table 700 may includeany number of entries. The table 700 also defines fields for each of theentries 704 and 706, which specify (i) a soliciting merchant identifier720, (ii) whether the merchant described by the record will output forthe soliciting merchant 722, (iii) a fee 724 that the merchant describedby the record will require in return for outputting an offer for thesoliciting merchant, and (iv) a priority 726 that the solicitingmerchant has. The priority may be used to select a soliciting merchantfor which to output an offer if it is possible to output for more thanone soliciting merchant.

Referring to FIG. 8, a table 800 illustrates an embodiment of the offercriteria database 324 (FIG. 3). The table 800 includes entries 802, 804,806 and 808, each of which describes criteria for defining when toprovide an offer for a bonus. The offer is provided to a customer if thecustomer satisfies criteria while participating in a first transactionwith a first merchant. The first merchant, known as an “outputtingmerchant”, outputs the offer for a bonus once the customer satisfies thecriteria. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that thetable 800 may include any number of entries. The table 800 also definesfields for each of the entries 802, 804, 806 and 808, which specify (i)a criteria identifier 822 for uniquely identifying the criteria, (ii) amerchant identifier 824 that identifies the outputting merchant, (iii) arequired purchase price 826 that must be met in order to receive anoffer for the bonus, (iv) a time of the transaction 828 that must be metin order to receive an offer for the bonus, (v) a bonus identifier 830that uniquely identifies the bonus, and (vi) the soliciting merchant 832on whose behalf the outputting merchant provides the offer. The requiredpurchase price 826 and time of transaction 828 represent criteria thatare based on transaction data. Those skilled in the art will understandthat many other types of criteria may be used, such as the age of thecustomer or the type of credit card identifier used by the customerduring the transaction.

The customer is required to participate in a transaction with theoutputting merchant in order to receive the offer for the bonus. Thecustomer may also be required to participate in the transaction at anindicated time, and the transaction may be required to have an indicatedpurchase price and include an indicated item. For example, the entry 806(FIG. 8) indicates a bonus identified by “D0001”. A customer receives anoffer for the bonus “D0001” after having participated in a transactionfor more than $10.00 with merchant “M0001” on a weekday before 5:00 PM.Further criteria may be specified as will be understood by those skilledin the art.

Referring to FIG. 9, a table 900 illustrates an embodiment of thepriority database 326 (FIG. 3). The table 900 includes entries 902, 904,906 and 908, each of which describes a rule for determining prioritybetween two or more soliciting merchants. When an outputting merchantmay provide offers on behalf of two or more soliciting merchants, thesoliciting merchant with the highest priority is selected. It will beunderstood by those skilled in the art that the table 900 may includeany number of entries. The table 900 also defines fields for each of theentries 902, 904, 906 and 908, which specify (i) a rule identifier 920that uniquely identifies the rule, (ii) an indication 922 of when therule is active and to be applied, and (iii) a prioritization 924indicating which soliciting merchant(s) are to be afforded priority overothers. For example, the entry 902 defines a rule that is applied onlyafter 7:00 PM. The rule further defines that restaurants (“merchantclass=restaurant”) have higher priority (“Priority=1”) overnon-restaurants (“Priority=2”). Accordingly, after 7:00 an outputtingmerchant will output offers on behalf of a restaurant over offers onbehalf of non-restaurants.

Referring to FIG. 10, a table 1000 illustrates an embodiment of thebonus database 328 (FIG. 3). The table 1000 includes entries 1002, 1004,1006 and 1008, each of which describes a bonus that may be offered to acustomer of an outputting merchant and conditions which the customermust meet with a soliciting merchant in order to receive the bonus. Thebonus is typically awarded once the customer participates in atransaction with a second (soliciting) merchant, subject to the customermeeting the conditions. It will be understood by those skilled in theart that the table 1000 may include any number of entries. The table1000 also defines fields for each of the entries 1002, 1004, 1006 and1008, which specify (i) a bonus identifier 1020 for uniquely identifyingthe bonus, (ii) a bonus value 1022, (iii) a merchant identifier 1024that identifies the second (soliciting) merchant, (iv) a time of thetransaction 1026 with the soliciting merchant, (v) a required purchaseprice 1028 with the soliciting merchant, and (vi) a required item topurchase 1030, if any. The time of the second transaction, requiredpurchase price at the soliciting merchant, and required item to purchaseeach represent a condition which the customer must meet in order toreceive the bonus. Many other conditions may be used as well.

The bonus value is typically expressed as, for example, a percentage offthe previous (first) transaction during which the offer for the bonuswas made. The bonus value may also be expressed as a percentage off thecurrent transaction. The customer is required to participate in atransaction with the soliciting merchant in order to receive the bonus.The customer may also be required to participate in a transaction at anindicated time, having an indicated purchase price and including anindicated item. For example, the entry 1008 indicates a bonus of fivepercent off the previous transaction. A customer receives this bonusafter having participated in a transaction for more than $10.00 withmerchant “M0001” on Saturday between 9:00 and 12:00.

Referring to FIG. 11, a table 1100 illustrates a record of the bonusdatabase 328 (FIG. 3) in another embodiment of the present invention. Insuch an embodiment, the customer is provided with the bonus once thecustomer participates in a transaction with each of a plurality ofsoliciting merchants, subject to the customer meeting the conditions ofeach soliciting merchant. In one embodiment, the customer may berequired to participate in the transactions in a predefined order. Inanother embodiment, no order of the transactions is required.

The table 1100 includes a bonus identifier 1102 and a bonus value 1104.The table 1100 also includes entries 1106, 1108 and 1110, each of whichdescribes a soliciting merchant and conditions which the customer mustmeet at the soliciting merchant in order to receive the bonus. It willbe understood by those skilled in the art that the table 1100 mayinclude any number of entries. The table 1100 also defines fields foreach of the entries 1106, 1108 and 1110, which specify (i) a merchantidentifier 1120 for uniquely identifying the soliciting merchant, (ii) atime of the transaction 1122 with the soliciting merchant, (iii) arequired purchase price 1124 with the soliciting merchant, and (iv) arequired item to purchase 1126, if any. The time of the secondtransaction, required purchase price at the soliciting merchant, andrequired item to purchase each represent a condition which the customermust meet in order to receive the bonus. Many other conditions may beused as well.

Referring to FIG. 12, a table 1200 illustrates an embodiment of theoffer database 330 (FIG. 3). The table 1200 includes entries 1202, 1204and 1206, each of which describes an offer for a bonus that has beenprovided to a customer. It will be understood by those skilled in theart that the table 1200 may include any number of entries. The table1200 also defines fields for each of the entries 1202, 1204 and 1206,which specify (i) an offer identifier 1220 for uniquely identifying theoffer; (ii) a bonus identifier 1222 that uniquely identifies the bonusthat has been offered; (iii) a criteria identifier 1224 that uniquelyidentifies the criteria that the customer satisfied in order to beoffered the bonus; (iv) an outputting merchant 1226 that offered thebonus; (v) a soliciting merchant 1228 providing the bonus; (vi) acustomer identifier 1230 that uniquely identifies the customer; (vii) anoffer status 1232 which may indicate, for example, whether (and when)the offer is redeemed, unredeemed or expired; and (viii) a validityperiod 1234 that indicates when the offer is able to be redeemed. Anoffer for a bonus is considered redeemed when the bonus is provided tothe customer.

Referring to FIG. 13, a table 1300 illustrates an embodiment of theoffer summary database 332 (FIG. 3). The table 1300 includes entries1302, 1304, 1306 and 1308, each of which describes summary informationabout bonuses that have been offered to customers. It will be understoodby those skilled in the art that the table 1300 may include any numberof entries. The table 1300 also defines fields for each of the entries1302, 1304, 1306 and 1308, which specify (i) a bonus identifier 1320 foruniquely identifying the bonus, (ii) a number of offers for the bonusthat were provided 1322, (iii) a number of offers for the bonus thatwere redeemed 1324, (iv) a number of offers for the bonus that wereunredeemed 1326 (neither redeemed nor expired), and (v) a number ofoffers for the bonus that were expired 1328 (not redeemed before the endof the validity period of the offer). The number of offers for the bonusthat were provided is the sum of the number of offers for the bonus thatwere redeemed, the number of offers for the bonus that were unredeemedand the number of offers for the bonus that were expired. Those skilledin the art will understand that the summary information may also beorganized by offer or by offer and bonus jointly, rather than by bonusas illustrated in FIG. 13. The information in the offer summary database332 may be updated periodically (e.g. once per day) to reflect offersthat have expired or been redeemed.

Referring to FIG. 14, a table 1400 illustrates an embodiment of theinventory database 422 (FIG. 4). The table 1400 includes entries 1402and 1404, each of which describes an item of inventory that is sold by amerchant. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that thetable 1400 may include any number of entries. The table 1400 alsodefines fields for each of the entries 1402 and 1404, which specify (i)an inventory identifier 1420 for uniquely identifying the item ofinventory, (ii) a description 1422 of the item of inventory, (iii) aprice 1424 for which the item of inventory is sold, and (iv) a quantityremaining 1426 of the item of inventory.

Referring to FIG. 15, a table 1500 illustrates a record of the customerdatabase 424 (FIG. 4). The customer database 424 typically includes aplurality of such records, each representing a customer and associatedcustomer information. The customer information is typically recorded bythe customer database 424 upon becoming registered for a “frequentshopper program” of the merchant. In another embodiment, the informationabout the customer may be acquired in another manner. The table 1500includes a customer identifier 1502 that uniquely identifies thecustomer, a customer name 1504, and address 1506 of the customer and acredit card number 1508, if any, of the customer. In one embodiment, thecustomer identifier may be the credit card number. Accordingly, acustomer using a credit card could be identified even if he had notregistered for a frequent shopper program.

The table 1500 also includes entries 1510 and 1512, each of whichdescribes a transaction of the customer. It will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that the table 1500 may include any number ofentries. The table 1500 also defines fields for each of the entries 1510and 1512, which specify (i) a transaction identifier 1520 that uniquelyidentifies the transaction, (ii) a merchant identifier 1522 thatidentifies the merchant with which the customer interacted during thetransaction, (iii) a date and time 1524 of the transaction, and (iv) apurchase price 1526 of the transaction.

Referring to FIG. 16A, a flow chart 1600 illustrates an embodiment of amethod for providing an offer for a bonus. In particular, theillustrated method is performed to establish a “routing” of customersfrom outputting merchants to soliciting merchants. A soliciting merchantis selected (step 1602) from a plurality of possible solicitingmerchants. Similarly, an outputting merchant is selected (step 1604)from a plurality of possible outputting merchants. As described indetail below, there are many ways in which the soliciting merchant andoutputting merchant may be selected. After a soliciting merchant and anoutputting merchant have been selected, an entry is created (step 1606)to indicate the soliciting merchant, outputting merchant and a bonus. Asdescribed above, the bonus is typically set by the soliciting merchant,and offered to a customer of the outputting merchant.

Referring to FIG. 16B, a flow chart 1620 illustrates an embodiment of amethod for providing an offer for a bonus. The illustrated method isperformed after an entry has been created as described above withreference to the flow chart 1600 (FIG. 16A). Transaction data thatrepresents a customer participating in a transaction with the outputtingmerchant is received (step 1622). In response, an entry for theoutputting merchant is retrieved (step 1624). For example, the offercriteria database 324 (FIG. 3) may be searched for entries that indicatethe outputting merchant in the field 824 (FIG. 8). The entry indicates abonus, and an offer for the bonus is provided to the customer (step1626). Such an offer may include a text or graphic display to thecustomer, a text or graphic display to a cashier who in turn reads theoffer to the customer, or an audio representation of the offer. Manyother ways of providing the offer to the customer will be understood bythose skilled in the art. The offered bonus is recorded (step 1628). Forexample, an appropriate entry may be created in the offer database 330(FIG. 3).

Subsequently, transaction data that represents the customerparticipating in a transaction with the soliciting merchant is received(step 1630). In response, an entry for the soliciting merchant isretrieved (step 1632). For example, the offer database 330 (FIG. 3) maybe searched for entries that indicate both the customer (e.g. by thefield 1230) and the soliciting merchant (e.g. by the field 1228). Theentry indicates the bonus, and the bonus is provided to the customer(step 1634). For example, a credit card account of the customer may becredited with an amount defined by the discount. In addition, the offersummary database 332 (FIG. 3) is updated to reflect the redeemed offer.The offer database 330 is also updated to reflect the redeemed offer.

Referring to FIGS. 17A and 17B, a flow chart 1700 illustrates anembodiment of a method provided in accordance with the presentinvention. The steps of this method may be performed in whole or in partby “browser” software, such as Netscape's Communicator® or Microsoft'sInternet Explorer®, that is executed by the user computer 110 (FIG. 1).

The user computer 110 accesses the web site of an outputting merchant(step 1702) which allows customers to place orders online. The usercomputer 110 receives transaction data and a credit card number from thecustomer (step 1704), and transmits the transaction data and credit cardnumber to the outputting merchant web server (step 1706). The creditcard number identifies a credit card account that the customer has usedto pay for the transaction. There are other ways besides identifying acredit card account to be charged in which the customer may renderpayment.

Once the outputting merchant web server receives the transaction data,it determines whether the customer has satisfied criteria, if any, toqualify for an offer for a bonus. If so, then the user computer 110receives data from the outputting merchant web server that indicates thebonus (step 1708). The bonus and any associated conditions are stored(step 1710), for example, in a cookie or other file on the user computer110 or on the Internet service provider computer 120 (FIG. 1). Theconditions may also be stored on the soliciting merchant web server orthe outputting merchant web server.

The user computer 110 creates (or receives) a link that displays anoffer for the bonus (step 1712). The link may be a hyperlink, banneradvertisement, additional frame, new window, or other element on the website of the outputting merchant. Alternatively, the outputting merchantweb server may alter the web site that is accessed by the user computer110. If the customer wishes to take advantage of the offer and make apurchase from another (soliciting) merchant, the user computer 110receives a command from the customer to connect to the link (step 1714)and thus access the web site of the soliciting merchant (step 1716).

The web site of the soliciting merchant likewise allows customers toplace orders online. The user computer 110 receives transaction data andthe credit card number from the customer (step 1718), and transmits thistransaction data and credit card number to the soliciting merchant webserver (step 1720). If the transaction with the soliciting merchant doesnot satisfy the conditions (step 1722), then the transaction isprocessed in a conventional manner (step 1724). Otherwise, the creditcard account is credited (step 1726) with an amount defined by thebonus.

As described above, the bonus is applied to the customer account uponcompletion of a second transaction at the soliciting merchant. However,in another embodiment of the present invention, the customer may befurther required to complete another transaction at the first merchant.Accordingly, the customer would have to participate in a firsttransaction at a first merchant, a second transaction at a secondmerchant, and then a third transaction at the first merchant. Althoughthe customer may be required to meet certain conditions during the thirdtransaction, typically the customer need not be so restrained.

Similarly, in another embodiment of the present invention the customermay be required to complete transactions at a plurality of solicitingmerchants. Accordingly, the customer would have to participate in afirst transaction at a first merchant, a second transaction at a secondmerchant, and then a third transaction at a third merchant. The customermay be required to participate in any number of transactions in order toreceive the offered bonus.

The routing of customers from an outputting merchant to a solicitingmerchant may be based on the activity rate of the outputting merchantand/or the soliciting merchant. The activity rate may be any measure of“busyness”, such as the number of completed transactions per time(transaction rate), the number of items purchased per period of time(item sale rate), the number of upsells accepted by customers per periodof time (upsell acceptance rate), the number of customers in a store,the dollar-value of sales per period of time or the number of customersin the vicinity of a POS terminal. The number of customers may bemeasured through input signals received from a sensor. Many other typesof measurements may be made to determine an activity rate of a merchant.

Referring to FIG. 18, a flow chart 1800 illustrates another embodimentof a method provided in accordance with the present invention. Inparticular, in the embodiment illustrated by the flow chart 1800customers are routed from the outputting merchant to the solicitingmerchant based on the activity rates of the outputting merchant and/orthe soliciting merchant.

A first merchant is selected (step 1802), and its activity rate ismeasured (step 1804) to determine whether it is sufficiently idle toreceive customers that are “routed” from other (outputting) merchants.The measurements may be made, for example, by a POS terminal with whichcustomers are interacting, by another device in a store, or by a webserver that measures the number of customer accessing a web site. Themeasurements or data indicative of the activity rate would then betransmitted to the server 210 (FIG. 2) via a store controller incommunication with the POS terminal or other device. Alternatively, themeasurements may be transmitted to the Internet service provider 120(FIG. 1). The server 210 or Internet service provider 120 could measurethe activity rate by receiving the measurement signal and/or byreceiving transaction data (or other data) from which an activity ratecan be measured.

If the measured activity rate is not less than a first predeterminedthreshold (step 1806), then the merchant is not considered sufficientlyidle and it is determined if there is another merchant (step 1808)having an unmeasured activity rate. If so, the next merchant is selected(step 1812) and its activity rate is measured (step 1804).

If the measured activity rate is less than the first predeterminedthreshold, then the merchant is sufficiently idle. In response, in thebonus database 328 (FIG. 3) an entry is created that indicates the firstmerchant and a bonus value (step 1814). The entry may also includeconditions, such as time of transaction, purchase price and/or item topurchase.

A second merchant different from the first merchant (i.e. the merchantwhose activity rate was measured) is selected (step 1816), and itsactivity rate is measured (step 1818) to determine whether it issufficiently busy to “route” customers to the first merchant. Themeasurements may be made, for example, by a POS terminal with whichcustomers are interacting, by another device in a store, or by a webserver that measures the number of customer accessing a web site. Themeasurements would then be transmitted to the server 210 (FIG. 2) via astore controller in communication with the POS terminal or other device.Alternatively, the measurements may be transmitted to the Internetservice provider 120 (FIG. 1).

If the measured activity rate is not greater than a second predeterminedthreshold (step 1820), then the merchant is not considered sufficientlybusy and it is determined if there is another merchant (step 1822). Ifthere is no next merchant to select, then the second threshold isreduced (step 1824). The next merchant is then selected (step 1816) andits activity rate is measured (step 1818).

If the measured activity rate is greater than the second predeterminedthreshold, then the merchant is sufficiently busy. In response, in theoffer criteria database 324 (FIG. 3) an entry is created that associatesthe aforementioned entry in the bonus database 328 with the secondmerchant (step 1826). This association effectively “ties” the secondmerchant to the entry in the bonus database 328.

The type of bonus offered may be, for example, a discount, anotheramount of monetary value or a free product (good or service). In otherembodiments of the present invention, the bonus may be a line pass orother voucher that allows a customer to receive preferential treatment(e.g. not waiting in line). Many types of bonuses may be measured by avalue. For example, the value of a discount is the amount by which apurchase price is reduced. Similarly, the value of a free product may bethe retail price of the product, or the cost of the product to thebusiness that sells the product. In accordance with the presentinvention, a business may establish a budget amount that defines themaximum aggregate value of all offered bonuses. Such a bonus amount mayrepresent an amount of funds actually transferred to an account andreserved for funding discounts. Alternatively, the budget amount mayrepresent a desirable spending limit of the business, while the businessis subsequently charged for discounts that are redeemed.

Referring to FIG. 19A, a flow chart 1900 illustrates another embodimentof a method provided in accordance with the present invention. Inparticular, in the embodiment illustrated by the flow chart 1900 bonusesare provided in accordance with a budget amount of the business.

Transaction data that represents a customer participating in atransaction with an outputting merchant is received (step 1901). Asdescribed above, a soliciting merchant is selected (step 1902) todetermine a bonus to be offered to the customer. The budget amount ofthe soliciting merchant is determined (step 1904). For example, themerchant database 322 (FIG. 3) may store the budget amount of themerchant (e.g. in the field 634 of FIG. 6). The value of the bonus isset based on the budget amount. In one embodiment, the bonus value is apredetermined value (e.g. $10.00) if the budget amount is at least asgreat as the predetermined value. If the budget amount is less than thepredetermined value, then the value is set lower to remain with thelimits of the budget amount. In another embodiment, the bonus value isset to a first value (e.g. $10.00) if the budget amount is greater thana second value (e.g. greater than $100.00), and the bonus value is setto a third value (e.g. $1.00) if the budget amount is less than thesecond value (e.g. less than $100.00). In this manner, the bonus valuemay be prudently allocated from the budget amount when a lower budgetamount remains available.

A portion of the budget amount equal to the value of the bonus is“frozen” (step 1908); the portion is made unavailable for allocation ofsubsequent bonuses. Freezing may comprise reducing the budget amount bythe frozen amount. Alternatively, freezing may comprise increasing theamount of a “frozen amount” balance and/or decreasing an “availableamount” balance associated with the budget amount. An offer for thebonus is provided to the customer of the outputting merchant (step 1910)as described above.

Referring to FIG. 19B, a flow chart 1950 illustrates another embodimentof a method provided in accordance with the present invention. Inparticular, the method illustrated by the flow chart 1950 is performedafter the method illustrated by the flow chart 1900. The methodillustrated by the flow chart 1950 may be performed periodically (e.g.every ten minutes) and/or upon occurrence of a predetermined event, suchas when an offer is redeemed.

If the offer for the bonus is redeemed (step 1952), then the budgetamount of the soliciting merchant is decreased by the value of theoffered bonus (step 1954). In another embodiment in which the budgetamount is decreased by a frozen amount, the budget amount may beunadjusted but a “frozen amount” balance may be decreased.

If the offer for the bonus is not redeemed, it is determined whether theoffer has expired (step 1956). If so, the portion of the budget amountequal to the value of the bonus is unfrozen (step 1958). Unfreezing maycomprise increasing the budget amount by the unfrozen amount.Alternatively, unfreezing may comprise decreasing the amount of a“frozen amount” balance and/or increasing an “available amount” balanceassociated with the budget amount.

A soliciting merchant may have to select from among several possibleoutputting merchants. The soliciting merchant will want to select theoutputting merchant whose customers are most likely to redeem the offersof the soliciting merchant. In order to optimally select the outputtingmerchant, the historical redemption by the customers of variousoutputting merchants may be measured.

Referring to FIG. 20, a flow chart 2000 illustrates another embodimentof a method provided in accordance with the present invention. Anoutputting merchant is selected (step 2002) from the set of possibleoutputting merchants. Then, the redemption of offers that were output bythis outputting merchant on behalf of the soliciting merchant isdetermined (step 2004). For example, such information on redemption maybe stored in the offer summary database 332 (FIG. 3). If there are moreoutputting merchants (step 2006) whose redemption information must bemeasured, then the next outputting merchant is selected (step 2008) andprocessed. When all possible outputting merchants have been processed,the outputting merchant with the maximum redemption is selected (step2010).

Referring to FIG. 21, a flow chart 2100 illustrates another embodimentof a method provided in accordance with the present invention. Inparticular, the illustrated method allows the selection of a solicitingmerchant from among several possible soliciting merchants by referringto priority ratings of the soliciting merchants. The priority of eachmerchant may be established by an amount of funds paid by the merchant.For example, each merchant could be charged a larger amount of money inreturn for a higher priority. The priority of each merchant may also beestablished by one or more predetermined rules (e.g. stored in thepriority database 326 of FIG. 3) or the activity rate of the merchant,as described above.

Transaction data that represents a customer participating in atransaction with an outputting merchant is received (step 2102). Asdescribed above, soliciting merchants for which the outputting merchantmay provide offers are determined (step 2104). There may be restrictionson whether a merchant may be considered a soliciting merchant for whichthe outputting merchant may provide offers. One restriction is whetherthere is an appropriate entry in the offer criteria database 324 (FIG.3). For example, there must be an entry having an indication of thisoutputting merchant in the field 824 (FIG. 8) and an indication of thissoliciting merchant in the field 832 (FIG. 8). A further restriction maybe specified by the field 722 (FIG. 7) described above. If there is notmore than one possible soliciting merchant (step 2106), then the offercorresponding to the soliciting merchant is provided (step 2108) asdescribed above.

If there is more than one possible soliciting merchant, then thepriority of each soliciting merchant is determined (step 2110). Forexample, such priorities may be stored in the merchant database 322. Thefield 638 of FIG. 6 indicates a priority for each merchant.Alternatively, the field 726 of FIG. 7 indicates a priority for eachsoliciting merchant given a particular outputting merchant indicated byfield 702. The soliciting merchant with the highest priority is selected(step 2112), and the corresponding offer is provided (step 2114).

In another embodiment, if there is more than one possible solicitingmerchant, then a corresponding offer could be provided for each of aplurality of soliciting merchants. For example, the customer may beasked to select from two offers for bonuses. The customer could providehis selection, which would be recorded, and the selected offer would beprovided, as described above. Alternatively, the customer could beprovided with both offers. Accordingly, the customer could possiblyredeem one or both bonuses, as described above.

Referring to FIG. 22, a flow chart 2200 illustrates another embodimentof a method provided in accordance with the present invention. Inparticular, the illustrated method allows a supplemental bonus to beprovided to certain customers. For example, if the customer redeems oneof the first ten offers, he receives a supplemental bonus.

Transaction data that represents a customer participating in atransaction with a soliciting merchant is received (step 2202). Next, abonus for the customer is determined (step 2204). The number of redeemedoffers that are similar (or identical) to the bonus is counted (step2206). For example, the offers that were output by the same outputtingmerchant and that were made on behalf of the same soliciting merchantmay be deemed similar. Alternatively, only the offers that were made onbehalf of the same soliciting merchant may be deemed similar.

If the number of redeemed offers is less than a threshold, then thebonus and a supplemental bonus are provided to the customer (step 2210).The supplemental bonus may comprise, for example, an increased discountor a free product. If the number of redeemed offers is not less than thethreshold, then only the bonus is provided (step 2212).

In a related embodiment, if the customer redeems one of the first tenoffers, he receives a bonus. Otherwise, customers are ineligible for thebonus. Accordingly, if the number of redeemed offers is less than thethreshold, then the bonus is provided to the customer. However, if thenumber of redeemed offers is not less than the threshold, then no bonusis provided.

Although the present invention has been described with respect to apreferred embodiment thereof, those skilled in the art will note thatvarious substitutions may be made to those embodiments described hereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.For example, besides a purchase a soliciting merchant may also acceptthat the customer perform a number of different types of transactions,such as participating in surveys.

1. A method for providing an offer for a bonus, comprising: determininga set of soliciting merchants, each soliciting merchant of the setcomprising a soliciting merchant participating in a system for providingan offer for a bonus; selecting, by a computing device, a solicitingmerchant from the set of soliciting merchants; selecting, by thecomputing device, an outputting merchant; determining that thesoliciting merchant is experiencing a period of low activity; andproviding, upon determining that the soliciting merchant is experiencinga period of low activity and to a customer of the outputting merchants,an offer for a bonus not yet earned by the customer, the bonus to beearned in exchange for consummating a transaction with the solicitingmerchant.
 2. The method of claim 1 in which the step of selecting asoliciting merchant comprises: selecting a plurality of solicitingmerchants.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising: receiving acustomer selection of a soliciting merchant of the plurality ofsoliciting merchants.
 4. The method of claim 2 in which the step ofproviding an offer for a bonus comprises: providing to a customer of theoutputting merchant an offer for each of the plurality of solicitingmerchants.
 5. The method of claim 1 in which the step of selecting asoliciting merchant comprises: selecting based on a predetermined rule.6. The method of claim 1 in which the step of selecting a solicitingmerchant comprises: selecting based on at least one of a current time,an activity rate of the soliciting merchant, a priority of thesoliciting merchant, an availability of the soliciting merchant, amerchant class of the soliciting merchant, and a number of offersprovided on behalf of the soliciting merchant.
 7. The method of claim 6,further comprising: determining the priority of the soliciting merchantbased on at least one of: an amount of funds paid by the solicitingmerchant, a current time, a predetermined rule, and an activity rate ofthe soliciting merchant.
 8. The method of claim 1 in which the step ofselecting a soliciting merchant comprises: measuring an activity rate ofthe soliciting merchant; selecting the soliciting merchant if theactivity rate is less than a predetermined threshold.
 9. The method ofclaim 8 in which the step of measuring an activity rate of thesoliciting merchant comprises: measuring an number of transactions perpredetermined time period.
 10. The method of claim 8 in which the stepof measuring an activity rate of the soliciting merchant comprises:determining a number of sales of a predetermined product.
 11. The methodof claim 10 in which the step of providing an offer comprises: providingto a customer of the outputting merchant an offer for the predeterminedproduct in exchange for consummating a transaction with the solicitingmerchant.
 12. The method of claim 1 in which the step of selecting asoliciting merchant comprises: selecting the soliciting merchant if thesoliciting merchant is registered as an outputting merchant.
 13. Themethod of claim 1 in which the step of selecting an outputting merchantcomprises: selecting based on at least one of: a current time, anactivity rate of the outputting merchant, redemption of offers providedby the outputting merchant, an availability of the outputting merchant,a priority of the outputting merchant, and a merchant class of theoutputting merchant.
 14. The method of claim 13, further comprisingdetermining the priority of the outputting merchant based on an amountof funds paid by the outputting merchant.
 15. The method of claim 1 inwhich the step of selecting an outputting merchant comprises:determining a redemption of offers that were previously output by theoutputting merchant.
 16. The method of claim 15 in which the step ofdetermining a redemption of offers comprises: determining a first amountof offers that were previously output by the outputting merchant; anddetermining a percentage of the offers that were redeemed.
 17. Themethod of claim 15, further comprising: selecting the outputtingmerchant if the redemption is greater than a predetermined threshold.18. The method of claim 1 in which the step of selecting an outputtingmerchant comprises: determining a redemption of offers that werepreviously output by each of a plurality of outputting merchants; andselecting an outputting merchant having a maximal redemption of offers.19. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a customeridentifier that identifies the customer; and in which the step ofproviding an offer is performed if the customer identifier is includedwithin a set of predetermined customer identifiers.
 20. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: receiving transaction data representing atransaction with the outputting merchant.
 21. The method of claim 20,further comprising: determining a criterion for the outputting merchant;and in which the step of providing an offer is performed if thetransaction satisfies the criterion.
 22. The method of claim 21 in whichthe criterion is based on: transaction data for the customer, an age ofthe customer, and a credit card identifier of the customer.
 23. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: receiving transaction datarepresenting a transaction of the customer with the soliciting merchant;and providing the bonus to the customer.
 24. The method of claim 23,further comprising: determining a soliciting merchant budget amount ofthe soliciting merchant; and adjusting the soliciting merchant budgetamount based on the value of the provided bonus.
 25. The method of claim24, further comprising: determining an outputting merchant budget amountof the outputting merchant; and adjusting the outputting merchant budgetamount based on the value of the provided bonus.
 26. The method of claim23, further comprising: determining a condition for the solicitingmerchant; and in which the step of providing the bonus is performed ifthe transaction satisfies the condition.
 27. The method of claim 23,further comprising: counting a number of redeemed offers.
 28. The methodof claim 27, further comprising: providing a supplemental bonus if thenumber of redeemed offers is less than a predetermined threshold. 29.The method of claim 23 in which the bonus comprises at least one of adiscount, a line pass, and a predetermined product.
 30. The method ofclaim 23 in which the step of providing the bonus comprises: crediting acredit card account.
 31. The method of claim 1, further comprising:creating an entry, the entry including an indication of the solicitingmerchant and the outputting merchant.
 32. The method of claim 31 inwhich the entry defines a criterion for the outputting merchant.
 33. Themethod of claim 31 in which the entry defines a condition for thesoliciting merchant.
 34. An apparatus for providing an offer for abonus, comprising: means for determining a set of soliciting merchants,each soliciting merchant of the set comprising a soliciting merchantparticipating in a system for providing an offer for a bonus; means forselecting a soliciting merchant from the set of soliciting merchants;means for selecting an outputting merchant; means for determining thatthe soliciting merchant is experiencing a period of low activity; andmeans for providing, upon determining that the soliciting merchant isexperiencing a period of low activity and to a customer of theoutputting merchant, an offer for a bonus not yet earned by thecustomer, the bonus to be earned in exchange for consummating atransaction with the soliciting merchant.
 35. An apparatus for providingan offer for a bonus, comprising: a storage device; and a processorconnected to the storage device, the storage device storing a programfor controlling the processor; and the processor operative with theprogram to: determine a set of soliciting merchants, each solicitingmerchant of the set comprising a soliciting merchant participating in asystem for providing an offer for a bonus; select a soliciting merchantfrom the set of soliciting merchants; select an outputting merchant;determine that the soliciting merchant is experiencing a period of lowactivity; and provide, upon determining that the soliciting merchant isexperiencing a period of low activity and to a customer of theoutputting merchant, an offer for a bonus not yet earned by thecustomer, the bonus to be earned in exchange for consummating atransaction with the soliciting merchant.
 36. A computer readable mediumencoded with processing instructions for implementing a method performedby a computer for providing an offer for a bonus, the method comprising:determining a set of soliciting merchants, each soliciting merchant ofthe set comprising a soliciting merchant participating in a system forproviding an offer for a bonus; selecting a soliciting merchant from theset of soliciting merchants; selecting an outputting merchant;determining that the soliciting merchant is experiencing a period of lowactivity; and providing, upon determining that the soliciting merchantis experiencing a period of low activity and to a customer of theoutputting merchant, an offer for a bonus not yet earned by thecustomer, the bonus to be earned in exchange for consummating atransaction with the soliciting merchant.
 37. The method of claim 1,wherein the step of providing comprises: providing to a customer of theoutputting merchant, while the customer is at a point-of-sale of theoutputting merchant, an offer for a bonus in exchange for consummating atransaction with the soliciting merchant.
 38. The method of claim 37,further comprising: causing the offer to be displayed, at thepoint-of-sale, to the customer.
 39. The method of claim 38, furthercomprising: prompting an operator of the point-of-sale to verballypresent the offer to the customer.
 40. The method of claim 38, furthercomprising: causing an indication of the offer to be printed at thepoint-of-sale.
 41. The method of claim 40, wherein the offer is printedon a receipt to be provided to the customer.
 42. The method of claim 1,wherein the step of providing comprises: providing to a customer of theoutputting merchant, while the customer is logged on to a Web site ofthe outputting merchant, an offer for a bonus in exchange forconsummating a transaction with the soliciting merchant.
 43. The methodof claim 42, further comprising: causing an indication of the offer tobe displayed to the customer via the Web site.
 44. The method of claim43, wherein the indication of the offer includes a hyperlink to a Website of the soliciting merchant.